The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"No need to be so polite, please stand up quickly."

Duan Jing'an stood next to Cheng Xi, somewhat surprised that Cheng Fu's entire family came out to greet him.

Seeing that the two old men were also there, Duan Jing'an quickly invited everyone into the house.

"Master Duan, please take a seat."

Cheng Fu led Duan Jing'an to the top seat, but Duan Jing'an declined, saying:

"Today I am here to visit you as a good friend of Brother Cheng. Master Cheng, please do not be polite. Please have the old man and the old lady take a seat."

Duan Jing'an was gentle and polite and sat down directly in the guest seat.

Seeing this, Cheng Xi told his uncle not to be polite, and Cheng Fu then sat down nervously.

Duan Jing'an saw that the Cheng family was a little uncomfortable, so he found some random topics to chat about.

When Duan Jing'an asked about the customs and culture of Nanyang, Cheng Fu was a little reserved at first, but gradually he started to talk freely.

"We in Nanyang love water and offer sacrifices to it every year to ensure good weather and good harvests."

"This year, both of my children participated in a swimming competition. They even caught two big fish. However, when Cheng Qi came ashore, he missed them and they slipped away."

"No, it was the kid from the Fu family who secretly cut my net bag and the fish slipped away. The next time we see that kid, my brother and I will beat him up!"

Cheng Qi said this with an unconvinced look on his face, even a little embarrassed. "Father, what a jerk! He exposed my past in front of Lord Duan. It's so embarrassing."

Duan Jing'an showed a look of shock, and said in disbelief:

"Two kids at such a young age can swim and even catch fish. That's amazing!"

Cheng Zhang was filled with pride when he heard Lord Duan say this. He stepped forward and said, "Children in Nanyang must learn to fish before they even have milk!"

"You little bastard, what are you talking about? You've already learned to fish before you even had milk. You're still catching fish, you're just catching a toad!"

Cheng Fu went up and there was a loud bang. Cheng Zhang covered his forehead and stamped his feet in pain.

"Oh, that's an exaggeration. Anyway, my brother has been in the water since he was three years old, and I was the one who took him with me."

"Are all children in Nanyang like this?"

Duan Jing'an was a little curious. He didn't expect that the customs in different places were so different. It sounded very interesting.

"That's true. In Nanyang, children, both boys and girls, start learning to swim from a young age. It can be said that almost everyone knows how to swim. Ordinary people like us just find a river to swim in, while some wealthy families who are more particular have their own ponds."

"But girls need to be more particular, and usually they learn it at home. But in some rural areas, they don't pay much attention to such things."

Duan Jing'an imagined the scene of children playing in the water and holding fish in his mind, and became more and more interested. He said that one day he would definitely go and experience it in person.

Cheng Fu warmly invited Duan Jing'an to come to Nanyang when the time comes, and they will definitely treat him well.

But then I thought, Nanyang is in dire straits now, and I don’t know when I can return to my hometown.

Thinking that the Cheng family was no longer as excited as before, the whole family became a little depressed, and Cheng Xi also looked sad at this time.

"I'm sure Lord Duan has also heard Brother Xi talk about his mother. He had a miserable life. The whole family suffered except him. I thought that the damn disease had disappeared, but who would have thought it would come back again? It seems that God is not letting the people of Nanyang have an easy life!"

Cheng Fu's voice was choked with sobs, and Wang followed suit:

"That's right. We still offer water sacrifices every year. If you ask me, why do we offer sacrifices to Laozi? The Water King doesn't care at all. No matter how many pigs and cattle are sent in every year, he still suffers the same amount of hardship."

"Silence!"

"Don't blame me, Lord Water. Don't blame me, Lord Water. I am a rude girl."

Old Madam Cheng muttered a few words, looked at Wang and asked her to recite silently after her.

Wang curled her lips, but still did as she was told. Cheng Fu explained:

"We hold a water sacrifice every year, and the one we offer to is the Water King. Lord Duan may not have heard of him, but he is the patron saint of Nanyang, and every household must enshrine a statue of the Water King."

Old Lady Cheng held Wang hostage and said a few respectful words to her before letting her go. Only then did Wang breathe a sigh of relief.

"You are still young. You must respect the Water Lord. Only then will he bless us with peace and safety."

"But this year there is no peace in Nanyang, only disaster!"

Who is it, who is it that speaks out my thoughts!

Wang heard her eldest son Cheng Zhang speaking from the side, "My eldest son, it turns out we share the same mind!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent. After a long while, Mrs. Cheng finally spoke:

"That's because someone violated a taboo and was punished by the Water Prince!"

When Cheng Fu saw that Old Madam Cheng had become eccentric, he knew that his mother's old illness had come back. With an apologetic smile, he said to Duan Jing'an:

"My mother's old illness has come back, please don't mind it, Master Duan."

Duan Jingan waved his hand and said nothing happened

"No problem. My mother sometimes tells us younger generations about this. It's quite interesting to hear the elders talk about this."

When Mrs. Cheng heard Duan Jing'an say this, she looked a little excited, as if she had found someone to talk to, and she talked incessantly about a secret in Nanyang.

Legend has it that fourteen years ago, there was a severe drought and no rain, especially in Guiling, where the water level was almost dry.

Many families could barely survive. That year, countless pigs and cows were sacrificed in the water festival, but the Water God did not show up and not a drop of rain fell.

At this time, someone heard from the side that offering human sacrifices could bring down rain.

No one had ever heard of this before, and because human sacrifice was unscrupulous, they all refused to agree.

Sacrificing people is simply unscrupulous, and someone drove away the evil Taoist who said this.

Who would have thought that the Taoist priest arrived at a remote and impoverished place. The people there were barely able to survive, and when they heard what the Taoist priest said, they all had some ideas.

At that time, there was no local person in Nanyang who could not swim, so everyone thought of finding a woman from another place.

This woman came from another place. She was beautiful and well-educated. It was said that she eloped with someone and came to this place.

The man of the family strongly disagreed when he first heard it because the woman had just given birth to a girl.

After the villagers lobbied him and promised to marry the village chief's daughter to him and give him a big fat boy, the man hesitated and actually agreed.

Thus began a gruesome water sacrifice ceremony...

A woman who had just given birth and was still in confinement was forcibly dragged down by a group of women.

Everyone scolded her as a disaster star and wanted to sacrifice her to the Water King to appease his anger.

The woman's already weak body was pinned to the ground by several strong women, making her unable to struggle.

They were dragged all the way to a pond in the village. It was said that the pond was only three meters deep, and it was the only remaining water source in the village.

The Taoist priest was wearing a white robe and looked like an immortal. The woman kept begging the immortal to save her life.

But the words that came out of the Taoist priest's mouth made the woman feel cold all over.

A man took out a thick iron chain and put it on the woman's feet. The woman kept resisting, but was slapped hard by the woman next to her.

Finally, the woman could no longer struggle and was shackled. The best swimmer in the village swam to the bottom of the pool and tied the other end of the chain to a huge rock at the bottom of the pool. In this way, the woman was dragged into the pool.

After the chain was tied, the woman's head was only a hand's distance from the water surface. She couldn't swim and kept struggling in the water, looking at the villagers surrounding the shore in despair.

The neighbors who had come to visit the children and chatted and laughed the day before have now turned into man-eating ghosts.

And her husband, who had promised to be good to her for the rest of his life, had become her executioner in just two or three years.

And there was the child, her poor baby who was only two days old. She was so young, surrounded by such a group of jackals, and she didn't know if she could grow up safely.

In this way, the woman died in despair with resentment and unwillingness.

The Taoist priest said that the whole village had to drink this water until it rained and the body could be salvaged.

Hearing this, some people were a little afraid. After all, this was water for the dead, especially since they had just pushed the woman in with their own hands.

They all blamed the Taoist priest for not telling them about this earlier. If he had told them earlier that they were drinking dead water, they would not have done it.

For a moment, everyone tried to shirk responsibility, but did not dare to look into the water again.

A few people with guilty consciences tried to pull the woman out of the water, saying that she might still be saved.

However, the Taoist priest stopped them sternly and said to everyone: If you don't do this, the water sacrifice will fail, the Water King will be angry, and there will be no rain in Nanyang for the next three years.